But look at the numbers closely and it’s clear, no matter how great a talking point wage equality is, that most women and men make about the same amount.

In lauding Patricia Arquette for using her acceptance speech as best supporting actress to advocate for women, Clinton said, “We all cheered at Patricia Arquette’s speech at the Oscars because she’s right. It’s time to have wage equality once and for all.”

But look at the numbers closely and it’s clear, no matter how great a talking point wage equality is, that most women and men make about the same amount, when you factor in the industries where they are employed and their years of experience, along with decisions about whether to work part-time or at all when raising children.

So what is the wage gap?

In 2014, Clinton tweeted, “20 years ago, women made 72 cents on the dollar to men. Today it’s still just 77 cents. More work to do. #EqualPay #NoCeilings”

But that statistic simply doesn’t take into account that a female preschool teacher who works part-time by choice won’t make anywhere near what a male scientist who works full-time does.

And no one should know how these factors matter better than Hillary Clinton, who paid her own female Senate staffers 72 cents on the dollar, according to a February analysis by the conservative Washington Free Beacon.

Presumably, Clinton would attribute that wage gap to the differences in the roles between the staffers, not to sexism on her part. In fact, a 2009 Labor Department report found that the real gender wage gap was about 5 cents per dollar.

Of course, 5 cents on the dollar isn’t acceptable. But it’s not clear that it’s discrimination at work or that this is a situation politicians such as Clinton should seek to involve the government in. One factor could be women’s reluctance to ask for raises.

A 2014 survey by Glamour found that 43 percent of women had asked for a raise in their current job vs. 54 percent of men, and only 39 percent had asked for more than the amount offered — again, vs. 54 percent of men. That’s a problem.

It’s not easy to ask for a raise — and I remember my first time asking for a raise as an excruciatingly stressful and unpleasant experience. I wanted my boss to just simply recognize my good work and give me a raise. I felt humiliated and weird about having to aggressively make the case for my own work’s merit.

But I did it — and got a raise.

Women do need to close the last of the gap. They should also continue to work toward top leadership positions, in which women are routinely significantly outnumbered by men.

But personal initiative, not politicians’ interference, is the way forward.

Katrina Trinko is managing editor for The Daily Signal. Her views do not represent The Heritage Foundation, her employer.